Metal railway-tie.



J. J. PIERCE, JR. METAL RAILWAY TIE.

AXPLIOATION FILED JUNE 15, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

to the road bed.

straight outer longitudina edge 5,7, blan U N llllill) STATES JU.\'.\.\ nuns rinses, in, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

' METAL RAILWAY-TIE;

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Application filed me 15, 190a Serial No. 438,496.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Jonas Janus linncn, 'Jr., a citizen of the lnited States, residing at Buffalo, in the countyof Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful I1: I provemen t in Metal ltailway-Tics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a metallic railway tie and'has the object to produce a tie of in plate or sheetsteel or other metal which possesses the maximum strength, rail seating and ballast engaging area for the amount of metal used, which is sufliciently resilient to furnish an elastic support for the load run- 15 ning over the same and which is incapable of being displaced either vertically or laterally inthe road bed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved metal- 2 he tie showing a rail secured upon one end ol which the tie is made.

Slnnlar letters of relerencc. indicate corre- 1 sponding parts throughout the several views. The tie as an entirety has the form of an inverted trough and consists generally of a E an horizontal top A; two vertical side walls or legs B, B extending downwardly from opposit fongitudinal edges of the top and horizontal base flanges 0 extending laterally from the lower edges of the side walls. The

as central part a of the top is contracted into a double wedge form or made narrower than the end portions a thereof, whereby the tie when embedded in ballast is anchored and prevented from moving laterally relatively The sidewalls of the tie follow the contour of the top and are of unil'or nheight throughout their length. Each base flange however is wideat its central part r and narrow at its end arts 0 and has a A tie of this construction may be formed from a rectangular blank of sheet or plate steel by pressing the same between the die and punch of a bull dozer or press. In thus formin an the tie from a rectangular plate the meta which is omitted from the central part'of the top of the tie to narrow the same is retained and provides the increased width of the central arts of the flanges. By this means the form in which it eaves the mill and readily can be em loyed in the rectangular converted into a tie having the central arts of its top and side walls contracted whi e the central parts of its flanges are increased 1L1' width, thereby obtaining the maximum bearing surface or area in the flanges and utilizing all the metal in theblank to the best advantage. The cost of the tie is materially reduced inasmuch as special rolling or preparation of the blank is unnecessary, no trimming of the tie after being shaped is required and .no metal is wasted as scrap for this purose. The bearing surface of the same may )e increased by providing the same in line with the rail supporting points with shoes D having the form of flat plates which extend across the underside of the base flanges and are secured thereto by turning the opposite.

ends (1 upwardly against the outer edges of the flanges and inwardly and downwardly against the upper side of the same, as shown,

in Figs. l am If desired, the space within the tie may be lilled with ballast, concrete or other suitable i'naterial which may be introduced through the open ends of. the tie and through an openin formed centrally in top of the same. The: rails F rest with their base flanges in seats'G formed in the top of the tie by depressing this part of the same sufficiently to form shoulders g, g on opposite sides of the seat which engage with t eopposite edges of the rail base and confine the same against lateral movement on the tie. The rails may be secured to. the tie by any suitable means, those shown for this purpose in the drawings consisting of washers or clip I plates h arranged artly on the tie top and partly on the rail base and bolts 11 connecting the washers with the tie top, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By providin de ressed seats on the tie for the r'ailsthe s on ders of the seats relieve the strain on the fastening bolts and prevent the same from being sheared off. For the pur ose of increasing 'the bearing area of the rails on the tie'the side walls of the same. are bulged or deflected outwardly in line with each seat, as shown at J, whereby the area of the seat is increased in the direction of the length of the rail and a more ex:

tensive and eflicient support Yer the same is creasing the weight of the same.' By thus 1 increasing the area of the rail seats on the tie, the number of ties usually required for a certain length of track may be reduced, thereby effecting a saving in cost of installing a railway.

My improved railway tie is very light and strong, it absolutely prevents the rails from spreadin and owing to the narrow center n0 latera movement of the same in the road bed is possible. The natural resiliency of the material from which it is made and its form of construction allow the rails to move under rapid movement of the load on the same and also minimizes crushing of the ballast as occurs to a large extent in ties of solid construction. Height of vertical legs, width of flanges, depth and width of depression for railbase, length of tie and width of face can be readily changed to suit varying conditions of the road bed, traffic and rail section, by changing the size of the rectangular plate and using different dies in shaping.

I claim as my invention: v

1. A railway tie ressed from a plate of metal and having a orizontal top which is narrow at the center and wide at opposite ends, vertical side walls connected at their upper edges with opposite longitudinal edges of the top and following the contour of the same and base flanges projecting laterally from the lower edges of the side walls those parts of the side walls which are transversely in line with the narrow part of the top being of the same thickness as the ends of the walls which are transversely in line with the wide parts of said top.

.2. A railway tie pressed from-a rectangu-- lar plate of metal and having a horizontal top which is narrow at-the center and wide at opposite ends, vertical side walls connected at their upper edges with opposite longitudinal edges of the top and following the contour of the same,- and base flanges projecting laterally from the lower edges ofthe side walls and each having a wide central part and narrow parts at opposite ends those parts of the side walls which are transversely in line with the narrow part of the top bein of the same .thickness as the ends of the wa ls hich are transversely in line with the wide parts ofsaid top. Y

3. A railway tie pressed'from a rectangular plate of metal and having a horizontal top which is narrow at the center and wide at nal edges-of the top and fo owing the contour of the same, and base flanges rojecting laterally from the -lower edges 0? the side walls andeach having a wide central part, narrow parts at opposite ends and a straight outer longitudinal edge those-parts of the side walls which are transversely in line with the narrow part. of the top bein of the same thickness as the ends of the wa ls which are transversely in line with the wide parts of saidtop. r

4. Afrailway tie pressed from a plate ,of metal afid'having a horizontal top, upright sidewa 's do'nnecting at their upper edges with opposite longitudinal edges 0 and outward deflections in .said walls in line with the place where the rails rest on the top of the tie.

5. A railway tie pressed from a plate of metal and having a horizontal top, upright 'side walls connectingat their up er edges JONAS JAMES PIERCE, JR. Witnesses:

Trmo L. PoyP, ANNA HErois.

the top,

opposite ends, vertical side walls connected at their upper edges with-opposite longitudl 

